"Oh my gods!"

That was the first thing I had heard when I gained consciousness. Last thing I had known, five different monsters had been attacking me. Was I dead? Was I standing by the river Styx? Was I standing over my own body, a ghost?

"Quick, Grover, go get Percy!" The girl's voice sounded familiar, and Grover…he was the satyr…the one who tried to get us to camp safely.

"Blah-ha-ha! What about Chiron?"

"I'll get him!" said a shrill, scared voice, and the sound of long human strides and short, goat-like strides faded.

"Thalia?" asked the girl who had spoken first.

Who did the girl sound like? I couldn't pinpoint it…

More footsteps, hushed whisperings, gasps of shock, and a gruff voice. "Annabeth, what is going on?"

Annabeth…the little seven-year-old? Sure, she was a daughter of Athena, and wise for her age, but she was just a little kid! Why not ask Luke? Why not Grover?

Somebody pressed a warm hand to my forehead. It seemed to burn into my skin. I was propped up, and my head rolled over onto somebody's shoulder. I tried to protest.

"Come on!" the person holding me said in a boss-like manner into the silence. Luke? "What's wrong with you people? Let's get her to the Big House."

I managed to yank my eyelids open. I was looking up at a young boy, probably my age, twelve, with bruises on his face and his dark hair messy like he had just been sleeping. The night sky over him was pitch black, dotted with stars.

It was clear to see he wasn't Luke. I was shocked. Who was this kid? "Who—"

"I'm Percy." He said. "You're safe now."

I looked around. There were no signs of monsters, and I wasn't hurt. "Strangest dream…" I managed to mutter. That's what it must have been…a dream.

"It's okay." He said.

"Dying." I whispered. I had been dying. I suddenly remembered lying bloody and hurting in the grass. Luke was holding Annabeth back and the monsters had disappeared in a whirlwind of fighting and swords. A person had been looking down at me at my eyesight blurred…my father…

"No. You're okay, what's your name?" but it didn't seem like I question.

"I'm Thalia, daughter of Zeus."

The boy's jaw clenched as the crowd burst into whispers, and a girl with curly blonde hair in battle armor burst into tears.

The boy helped me sit up by myself and then backed away nervously, hoping I didn't fall but seeming a little eager to leave my side. The blonde girl rushed over and threw her arms around me. "Thalia, you're okay!"

I stiffened. "Who are you?" I tried not to sound rude, but I had no idea who the Hades this girl was.

She backed up. "It's me, Thalia. Annabeth."

"But…but Annabeth is seven." My throat was dry. This girl was my age…but once I got a good look, I knew she was telling the truth. Her eyes were the same stormy gray.

"What's going on?" I asked, standing up. "Where's Luke?"

Annabeth started crying again, and that Percy boy reached over and patted her on the arm.

"Maybe we should take Thalia to the Big House." He suggested again, quieter this time, looking to a tall centaur, who just reeked of leader.

I was led to a big blue house, and Grover started apologizing as we walked. "I'm so sorry, Thalia, I didn't mean to lead you into trouble, I'm sorry I left you there to die."

"Die?" I asked, alarmed. "What are you talking about, goat boy? I'm right here, aren't I?" I was trying to sound upbeat. I wasn't dead….

Nobody said anything, and that wasn't a very comforting feeling.

They sat me down at a pool table, Annabeth sitting next to me on one side, Grover on the other, and the dark haired boy across the table. The centaur sat at one end, and a pudgy man with a red nose holding a Diet Coke at the other.

"Hello, Thalia, I'm Chiron." The centaur said. "And that is the camp leader, Dionysus, or Mr. D."

"Hi." I said in a small voice.

"You know Annabeth and Grover, of course, and this is Percy." Chiron pointed to the boy with black hair, who was looking between Annabeth and I like he was worried I was going to burst into flames or Annabeth was going to start crying again.

Then they told me the story. How I had died several years ago, and my father, Zeus, had enclosed my soul in a pine tree that had been protecting the camp from monsters ever since. I was supposed to be nineteen, and one look in a mirror confirmed I wasn't twelve anymore…but I wasn't nineteen, either. Luke was twenty-one (they didn't tell me where he was), and Annabeth was twelve. Nobody explained to me who this Percy person was, and why he was here. He didn't even say anything.

"You must have come out of the tree because of the Golden Fleece." Annabeth said.

"Golden Fleece? Like a goat?" I asked, startled.

"Blaa-ha-ha! Sheep! Not goat!" Grover cried, offended.

"Well, excuse me." I snapped, and poked him. Electricity sparked from my finger, zapping the stubborn Satyr.

"Hey! Ow! You know that hurts, Thalia!" Grover complained, rubbing his shoulder. That was just another benefit…okay, the only benefit, of being the daughter of Zeus…super cool shocking skill.

"What's this Golden Fleece?" I demanded.

The Percy boy spoke up for the first time. "It makes everything around it grow well…the plants, the animals, whatever. Lu—somebody poisoned your tree and we had to find it to keep the boundaries up and protect the camp."

"Who? Who poisoned it?" I asked.

Chiron cleared his throat. "Let's not talk about this right now, shall we? I think Thalia deserves a good night's sleep."

"I've slept for years! I want to know what's going on. Who poisoned my—I mean, the tree?" I snapped, nearly knocking over my untouched glass of water.

"Patience, daughter of Zeus." Chiron said with a disapproving look.

I scowled, but fell silent, waiting for someone to tell me what was going on.

The pudgy man…Mr. D…spoke up for the first time. "How refreshing. A demigod of the Big Three actually attempting to do as they're told." His tone was bored, and he didn't actually seem pleased. He was glaring pointedly at Percy.

I stared at the boy, who was now scowling much the same way as I had just been. "Who are you?"

Percy looked surprised. "Percy Jackson."

"No, I mean, who's your parent? On the god side?"

Percy shifted nervously. "My dad is Poseidon."

I felt like someone had just hit me over the head. "I thought I was the only child of the Big Three."

"You were…until Percy revealed himself last summer." Chiron said.

"Oh." I really didn't have anything else to say.

Nobody spoke for a minute, until I decided to try my long un-answered question again. "Where's Luke?"

Percy shifted uncomfortably, Chiron bowed his head, Annabeth was crying again and Grover was nervously munching on a tin can. The only person that looked unfazed was Mr. D, who took a slurp of his Diet Coke and settled back into his arm chair.

"He isn't…he isn't dead, is he?" I asked, my mouth dry.

"No." Percy was the only one to say anything, and he said it with such distaste that it took me by surprise.

"Then where is he? What's wrong?"

Annabeth put a hand on my shoulder. "Kronos is back…and Luke had joined him."

"Um…Kronos?" It sounded familiar…maybe it had been mentioned in a passing. "Remind me who that is?"

"Kronos is the Titan Lord of Time, and the father of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades." Chiron said.

"And he's not a good guy, right?"

"Right." Chiron said gently.

I was stunned. Why would Luke join Kronos? Luke wasn't a mean person…why would he be on the bad guy's side? "That doesn't make any sense."

Percy crossed his arms, looking a little annoyed. He opened his mouth to say something, but there was a loud thump under the table and Percy's eyes started to water. "What did you do that for?" he asked Annabeth.

"Just shut up, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth snapped. "We don't need your smart comments."

Percy glared at her.

"I must insist on us all going to bed. It's late." Chiron said. I tried to protest, but he held up his hand. "Percy, Annabeth, take Thalia to the Zeus cabin."

"Come on, Thalia." Annabeth said, and we all stepped out into the night air. "Are you okay?" she asked me.

"Um, I guess so." I felt sick to my stomach. Everything was so different now. Luke had joined Kronos, Annabeth was twelve, and there was another child of the Big Three…Percy.

Annabeth pointed to a big, white cabin with holographic doors. "That's your cabin. I'll be right over there, at the Athena cabin." She said, pointing at another cabin, slightly shorter. "And Percy will be at the Poseidon cabin." She pointed to another empty cabin, like mine. It was a short little cabin gleaming with shells. "Here's some pajamas…and everything else you should need." She handed me a bag.

"I have the cabin all to myself?" I asked. I tried to sound excited, but I was honestly a little scared. I had just popped out of a tree and now they were going to leave me alone in a huge marble cabin?

Annabeth and Percy left and I slipped into the cabin. There were ten beds all dressed in gold, and the ceiling was tall with a beautiful view of the night sky. The floor was smooth like glass and was swirled with clouds and storms and lighting. It was beautiful…but large and lonely at the same time.

I dressed in my pajamas and climbed into the bed farthest in the corner, curled up, and succeeded in not falling asleep.